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General Education Office

BUSINESS ENGLISHLA.231/LA.331/

LA.3501

Unit 9: Companies

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Objectives By the end of this class you will be able to…

• Use the present continuous tense and present simple

• Describe companies and their operations

• Use common terms for presentations

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Company brands

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Companies QuizWork with a partner to answer the following questions:Which company:1 Began in 1865 as a forestry and power business?

a) Ericsson b) Nokia c) Motorola2 Produces the most successful toy in history

a) Disney b) Fisher-Price c) Mattel3 Has it’s head office in San Francisco

a) Levi-Strauss b) Nike c) Calvin Klein4 Buys more sugar than any other company in the world?

a) Nestle b) Coca-Cola c) Suchard5 Employs more people than any other company?

a) Wal-Mart b) Siemens c) General Motors6 Has the largest factory in the world?

a) Boeing b) Ford c) Sony7 Was started by Ray A. Kroc in 1955?

a) Burger King b) Kentucky Fried Chicken c) McDonald’s

What famous companies come from your country? What do they do or make?

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ListeningThe Unipart Group of Companies (UGC) is a service provider for clients likeVodafone, Jaguar, Airbus and HP. It is one of the largest private companies inthe UK.

A) John M. Neill CBE is Group Chief Executive of UGC. Listen to the first part of the interview and complete these notes about the company’s values.The company’s values are:• a clear guiding philosophy: to understand the real and perceived _______ of our

customers better than anyone else, and __________ them better than anyone else;• a corporate _______ that requires us to deliver outstanding personal customer

________ to all of our customers;• a very strong _________ which demands that we, as individuals at every level of

the company work very hard to inspire all our stakeholders, to want to have a lifetime ______ with our company.

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ListeningB) Now listen to the second part of the interview and answer these questions.

1 What was Peter Drucker’s warning?

2 When did UGC build it’s own company university?

3 What is the university’s mission?

4 Why does UGC to help employees reskill themselves?

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Language Focus

We use the present continuous tense to talk about temporary actionsand situations that are happening now.The factory is working seven days a week.We are selling in 72 different countries.What is Jackie doing? She is talking to a customer.

The present continuous tense is formed with be and – ing form of the verb.

Language Focus – Present Continuous Tense

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Language Focus

a) Complete these sentences with the present continuous form of the verbs in brackets.1. BMW is selling (sell) Minis in China now.2. People _________ (work) in the factory 51 weeks a year.3. I _________ (call) about a problem.4. Many Chinese people _________ (learn) English.5. She is _________ (attend) a course on presentations.6. He _________ (not work) in the office today.7. They _________ (entertain) some foreign guests.

Language Focus – Present Continuous Tense

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Language Focus

b) Complete the article below about the food group Pret A Manager.Use the present continuous form of the verbs in the box.

The number of Pret A Manager (PAM) shops _________1 not only in London, but also in other parts of th UK. At present, PAM _________2 its

overseas business, particularly in China. Currently it _________3 its Advertising material into Chinese. PAM _________4 its winning formulato Hong Kong and Japan. PAM _________ 5 to open new shops in New York.

Language Focus – Present Continuous Tense

increase export plan expand translate

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Describing CompaniesA) These sentences describe two companies. Autotech and Green

Fingers. Choose pairs of sentences which describe similar things and match them with the correct company.

AUTOTECHA large car-parts company

GREEN FINGERSA small garden-products company

John Smith started Autotech in 1960.

George and James Hawkins began Green Fingers in the 1920s

1. John Smith started Autotech in 1960.2. It has a workforce of 2500.3. Autotech exports to over 12 countries.4. It manufactures car parts.5. It introduces one or two new components

each year.6. It employs about 35 people.

7. Green Fingers sells some of it’s products abroad.8. It makes garden products.9. George and James Hawkings began GF in the 1920s10. It makes garden products.11. It launches 12 new products a year.12. Autotech provides components for the car industry.

B) Now underline the verbs which mean the same thing in each pair of sentences.

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Describing CompaniesC) Use verbs from Exercise A which you underline to complete this

company profile.

GKS Services

GKS Services _______ 1 in 1989 when Dieter Norland left his job as an engineeran the computer industry. The company __________ 2 high-tech security alarmsand __________3 its produces all over the world. It __________ 4 150 people atits factory near Rotterdam, although the company’s head office and __________5 a staff of 20. The company __________ 6 a number of new products each year. GKS Services __________ 7 products to the security industry and __________ 8

domestic alarms for the general public.

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Reading - NaturaA) In small groups, discuss these questions.

1. What kind of products are often described as “natural”?2. In your country, what is important for people when they buy

cosmetics and things like soap, shampoo or toothpaste?3. Nowadays, many companies want to be ‘ethical’ i.e., to behave

in a morally right way. What do you think that means in practice?

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Reading - NaturaB) Before you read the article, match the words (1-6) to their

meaning (a-f).

1 toiletries a a group of products of the same type that a company makes

2 sophisticated b The money a company has after paying tax and other costs

3 revenues c who know a lot about fashion and the modern world

4 a range d that you can destroy without making the environment dirty

5 biodegradable e Things like toothpaste, soap, shampoo, etc.

6 net income f Money that a business gets from selling goods over a period of time

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Reading - NaturaC) Look through the article and complete this fact file.

Name: Type of products:

Location: Number of products:

Chief Executive: Revenues:

D) Answer these questions.1. Where does Natura sell its products?2. What is the company’s target for the next five years?3. Where does the company get the ingredients for its products?4. What makes Natura an ethical company?5. Why did Natura choose France to find out how successful it could

expand abroad?

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Reading - NaturaE) Match the words (1-5) to the nouns (a-e) to make word

partnerships used in the article.

1 a fast growing a) values2 chief b) ingredients3 corporate c) lotion4 skin-care d) executive5 natural e) company

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Language Focus – Present simple or continuous

Complete the rules with present simple or present continuous.

We use the __________ to describe permanent situations, one which won’t change.I work in Paris.

We use the ____________ to describe temporary situations, ones which happen for a short time.

I’m working in Paris.

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Language Focus – Present simple or continuous

A) Underline the present simple or the present continuous form of the verb to complete these sentences.A) I stay / am staying at the Ritz every time I’m in New York. I

stay / am staying at the Ritz at the moment.B) She works / is working at home today. She works / is working

at home every day.C) She often calls / is calling Russia. At the moment she calls /

is calling a customer in Moscow.D) I don’t usually deal /dealing with the paperwork. I deal / am

dealing with all the paperwork while Susan is away.E) It normally takes / is taking about two months. But this

delivery takes / is taking longer than usual.F) We normally use / are using a London firm. This time, we use

/ are using a different company.

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Language Focus – Present simple or continuous

B) Complete this article with the present simple or the present continuous form of the verbs in brackets.

The Inditex group owns 1 (own) six fashion chains including Zara. It __________ 2 (have) around 1500 stores worldwide. It __________ 3 (operate) in 44 countries. Inditex __________ 4 (employ) 27000 people and __________ 5 (have) more than 200 fashion designers.Currently, the fashion designers __________6 (work) on next year’s designs. The Inditex group __________ 7(do) very well at the moment, and it __________8 (try) to become a global fashion leader.Amancio Ortega, the founder of Inditex, also __________ 9 (invest) in property and hotels. Most of this year’s investment __________10 (stay) in Spain.

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Pairwork – Describe your company

C) Work in pairs. Role play this situation. Student A works at the EBB Bank.Student B works at the Goldcrest Hotel. Take it in turns to show each other around your company. Say what happens in each area and what is happening now.

Use the company information on Page 83 of your text book.

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Skills – Starting a Presentation

A) Listen to the start of a presentation. Number these items (a-e)

in the order you hear them.

a) There are three parts to my presentation. Firstly…

b) By the end of my presentation you will understand

clearly our future plans.

d) Good afternoon, everyone. My name’s Richard Valdes.

e) I’d like to talk to about our new marketing strategy.

f) Finally the details of the costs.

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B) Listen again. Match the heading (1-4) to the items (a – e) in Exercise A.

1 Topic of the talk 3 Greeting the audience

2 Aim 4 Plan of the talk

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Skills – Starting a Presentation

Useful language

Greeting Plan

Good morning / afternoon. I’m… There are three parts to my presentation.

Hello, everyone. Nice to see you again. My presentation is in three section.

Hi, I’m…. Good to see you all. Firstly,…

Secondly,….

Topic Aims

My subject today is….. By the end of my presentation, you

I’d like to talk to you about…. Will have a clear idea of…

I’m going to talk about…. By the end of my talk, you will

The subject of my presentation is… understand how / why…..

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SummaryDuring this class you have…

Used the present continuous tense and present simple

Described companies and their operations

Used common terms for presentations